Great British Bake Off Blog - Illusion Cakes Special

Posted on September 01 2017

Great British Bake Off is back. With all the focus this year being on the change of presenters and the change of channel, viewers were keen to see if the first episode of GBBO 2017 could live up to previous years. Well, for the most part they weren’t disappointed! Fans on social media during and afterwards were seen to be happy that the format had been kept the same and the new presenters (Sandy and Noel) were doing a good job. Although some people were less than happy at the ad-breaks, the consensus was that GBBO was as strong as ever.

Some of the cakes during the episode were amazing and here at Baking Time Club we couldn’t get enough of the illusion cakes. From Flo’s Watermelon to Liam’s breakfast pancakes, these cakes were stunning and that’s why this week’s blog post is all to do with illusion cakes!

First up on our list we have this incredible garden planter cake. At first glance it’s pretty much impossible to tell this isn’t a real garden plant pot with real vegetables! Everything on this cake is edible (excluding the wire on the bucket) from the spade to the vegetables and the pot itself although the vegetables definitely won’t count towards your five day.

Staying on the garden theme, next on our list we have this bright green Asparagus bunch cake. This stunning creation is made from green icing with a chocolate and buttercream filling centre. We particularly like the edible band around the edge to give it that finishing touch!

With Halloween just around the corner, we have these spooky candle cakes next on our list. As well as looking super realistic, they will also taste great. They are made from a plain sponge inner and then topped with buttercream and white chocolate drizzle for the wax. These also will only take 45 minutes to make and will look amazing if you decide to throw a Halloween party this year.

Fourth on our list we have these brilliant Mr Whippy cupcakes. These cupcakes look exactly like ice creams and can be made from start to finish in about an hour. They are made of vanilla sponge, vanilla icing and are finished off with a mini flake to give them that final summer time touch.

Next on our list we have this jaw-dropping digital camera cake. The details on this cake are incredible including the screen, strap, lense and all of the individual camera buttons that are featured. To get these details this spot-on requires some serious skill and time and whoever made it could easily win the star baker award on GBBO.

Penultimately on our list we have this gravity defying drill cake. This illusion cake truly defies gravity with its drill that stands vertically out of the two bottom cakes. This would be a perfect cake for a DIY-loving parent and would instantly impress anyone who lays eyes on it. Also, everything in the cake is edible including the drill!

The final illusion cake in our list is this spectacular pineapple and coconut baked Alaska cake. Although this cake may not be aiming for realism like the other cakes on our list were, we just think it looks incredible and it’s an original way to create an illusion cake. The sponge is flavoured with pineapple chunks and desiccated coconut and is filled with rum buttercream. The recipe also includes meringue for the outer layer and chocolate pieces for the pineapple fronds. A real show stopper!